Isaiah 43:28Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He states, "For your ancestors and your leaders have committed wickedness against Me." By mentioning the ancestors, He is not solely pointing fingers at those who came before, but also suggesting something deeper. The wise leaders and lawgivers, appointed for the priesthood, who have guided the people, can also be considered fathers and rulers of those under their charge. Thus, when transgressions are committed, not by the common folk, but rather by those entrusted with the correction of such wrongs, the necessary consequence is that the punishment for wrongdoing becomes unavoidable. Hence, He states, "Those who occupy the role of fathers and hold power over you have acted unjustly against Me." By saying, "against Me," He highlights that their disgraceful actions are not merely against fellow human beings, but against the very majesty of God, who reigns supreme.

My argument is thus: if one harms a neighbor through cruelty or any form of violence, although the offense is serious, it remains an act against a fellow creature rather than against God. Moreover, those who turn away from His service and fall into the deception of false idols, turning to them in worship, rebel against God. This diminishes the divine from His rightful place of glory. The Israelites once fell into this trap as well; they worshipped idols and, despite receiving the sacred revelations, refused to submit their prideful hearts to God. Therefore, He charges them, saying, "The priests have not asked, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who study the law have failed to seek Me, and the shepherds have acted treacherously against Me" (Jeremiah 2:8). He continues, "Why do you speak to Me? All of you have committed wrongdoing and transgressed against Me, says the Lord Almighty" (Jeremiah 2:29). Defiled were the rulers of My holy place; they had the audacity to erect idols, not only in Jerusalem but even within the sacred temple, prompting the Almighty to question why the people created abominations in His house (Jeremiah 11:15), likening the crafted idols to detestable things.

Furthermore, holy things can be sullied when one disregards what has been commanded for God’s glory with reverence and holiness, and when offenses against His divine laws are treated lightly. Thus, because your ancestors, He states, have acted wickedly against Me and have desecrated My holy leaders, I have permitted enemies to ravage Jacob, and I have permitted Israel to be shamed for this.

I shall eliminate the old record that stood against you and will no longer recall your sins, which I will forgive in baptism if you choose to believe. Therefore, remind Me that if you have anything just to say in response, I will listen readily, so that we may stand in judgment together, and you may demonstrate that I have not treated you as I should have. This concept is echoed in Micah: My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Answer Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and rescued you from slavery, and I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you (Micah 6:3-4). In the fiftieth psalm, David expresses this to God, proclaiming, ‘that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest prevail when thou art judged’ (Ps. 50:6). Therefore, state your justification if you have one. The implication is that I will not speak first against you, lest you claim to be oppressed by an abundance of words; instead, you must defend yourself if you possess substantial grounds to prove that you are unwarrantedly enduring the suffering you face. However, understand that My mercy towards you is not based on your merit, but rather on My inherent goodness; I direct you to your ancestors to recognize that you are born into sin. Your ancestor was the first to sin in the wilderness, reflecting the whole nation of Israel. Your forefather Abraham also bears guilt; when the Lord assured him that his descendants would inherit the promised land, Abraham responded, ‘By this shall I know that I shall inherit it’ (Genesis 15:8). Moreover, your mediators have forsaken me: Aaron and Moses, at the waters of Meribah, who acted as intermediaries between Me and you (Num. 20). To clarify that this explanation is not forced, it is further stated: I have regarded the leaders of the holy ones as unclean, as is depicted in your psalm: they were consumed at the rock of their judgment (Psalms 140:6). He describes them as unclean because they did not enter the promised land. Thus, He allowed Jacob to be put to death and Israel to be mocked, so that none of those who emerged from Egypt, aside from two, entered into Judah; their bodies perished in the wilderness. The Seventy, who have added their own, are told, “Confess first your iniquities that you may be justified”; God calls them to repent, that they may recognize their sins and attain forgiveness. It is also written elsewhere, ‘He who is righteous in his own eyes is a fool’ (Proverbs 18:18). It is said that their leaders and ancestors defiled the sacred things of the Lord, failing to uphold God’s law and instead adhering to the traditions and commands of men; thus, for their sake, Jacob fell, and Israel, exiled and wandering, faced destruction.